Tweetables:

We have to be resourceful and we can learn from Miss Barbara Walters @tiffanydparson #VATip click to tweet!

Self-doubt should not paralyze you from doing what you want to do. @tiffanydparson #VATip click to tweet!

In Words:

I just want to share I was watching the Barbara Walters special last night. It was Barbara Walters: Her Story, and for some reason I was getting emotional about Barbara Walters’ story. I even tweeted, you know, why am I getting so emotional about this?

I guess realizing what an impact she has made for women journalists, I mean, it’s huge when you really process the fact that in the 70s they weren’t too fond of having women co-anchors and now it’s like commonplace. You don’t even think about it, and Barbara Walters broke the mold.

There are a few lessons that I’ve pulled listening to her interview. I thought it would be fun to share these with you because maybe you’re experiencing some of these things, and just to see what an icon has gone before us and pushed through and kicked down the doors.

One of those things was when she started doing those specials, you know, how they would have the Barbara Walters special interviews where she would sometimes interview celebrities or people in the news. But when she first started doing that the news folks thought, well, people won’t be interested in that combination of celebrities and people that are in the news. That won’t work. Well, guess what? It worked.

In fact, you may not even remember Barbara Walters being a news anchor, but you certainly know her from her special interviews, and whenever there was a Barbara Walters special interview with someone big or someone you were interested in or surprised that was doing an interview, we’re all like all in wanting to hear the interview. That’s one thing.

When people tell you that what you’re doing won’t work, disregard it.

Consider the source. A lot of times people are just telling you things because they’re scared and wouldn’t want to do it themselves. Well, it’s not for them to do. You’re the one that’s doing it.

I’m going to tell you, working from home virtually is one of those things that people will try to plant negative seeds. You can’t allow that to happen and the way you shut it down is don’t engage it. I don’t want to say don’t participate in it, but shut it down. Shut it down when someone comes at you like, “You think you can really do that?” Yeah! Yes, I can!

Or get off the phone, whatever you need to do to shut that mess down, because there’s just too much negativity going on. Once you allow it in, it continues to talk long after the person is gone. So just shut that mess down.

Hey, they told Barbara Walters it wouldn’t work and look where she is, same for you.

The other thing that was pretty cool is that when she first got the job at ABC, and I forget, I think she was at CBS or NBC and moved to ABC, and her functioning job was co-anchor but back then they did not want to call her a co-anchor because she was a woman.

Her co-host didn’t like the fact that she was there. He felt like it was a demotion that they were putting a woman to partner with him on that show. So his stipulation was that he got to ask all the questions and Barbara could ask one question when they had a major interview in the studio.

Guess what Miss Barbara Walters did? She decided she would go after the interviews that were outside the studio and then she wouldn’t have to worry about that rule. And guess what? She got to interview a lot of people as a result—Presidents and important people in politics at the local level, national level, international level, and different things like that.

Well, you know, it’s Barbara Walters. I don’t even have to tell you. Needless to say, guess what they decided to do? They got rid of her co-host and kept her. How about that?

The lesson for us as a virtual assistant or other virtual provider is this: resourcefulness. If you come to a point and there’s a block, something is in the way because of rules or because of something you can’t figure out, there is always a workaround.

You want to be resourceful and figure out what the workaround is.

That is your job. You bring solutions for your client. The problems that you may have as you’re working on their project, they don’t even have to know because you’re all about being resourceful and finding the solution.

For example, several months back there was an issue with HootSuite not delivering scheduled social media posts. As a resourceful VA, instead of griping about it and, you know, bugging HootSuite about it, you investigate to see what is going on, see what they’re saying.

I don’t want to use the ‘b’ word, but instead of getting upset with them about it and griping about it, you go and find another alternative. Yeah, it’s more work. Yeah, you might of had to reschedule some things or check on it from one hour to the next based on when clients’ things were scheduled, but so what.

Your job is to bring solutions and to be resourceful.

Stay abreast on the issue and see if it’s being resolved, and of course, something like that you would notify your client. But let them know how you are handing it and resolving the issue, because things still need to get up on social media regardless of whether HootSuite is working correctly or not.

We have to be resourceful and we can learn from Miss Barbara Walters and how she handled that situation. I just wanted to share, you know, a couple of lessons learned from her and how she handled things.

There’s a number three, always got to have three. Two lessons just doesn’t feel right so let’s have a third one, which is Barbara Walters has self-doubt. I was like, what? She describes herself and she’s like, yes, I’m a “woulda, coulda, shoulda” person. I’m thinking what in the world would she be “woulda, coulda, shoulda” about?

But she said, you know, if someone says to her, “Oh you should have asked so and so this,” or “You didn’t get a chance to ask them that.” And she’s like, oh shoot, yeah, I should of, I could of, whatever. That was just one of the ways she experiences self-doubt about things that she does.

What we can learn from that is even though you’re experiencing self-doubt, it should not paralyze you from doing what it is that you want to do.

It should not keep you from your dream just because you have doubts. You push through that. Learn from it and do better the next time or improve the next time, whatever.

Sometimes our doubts aren’t even valid, you know? We’ll doubt something and then realize, you know, that really was good. I did an excellent job on that. Especially when you get feedback from a client and maybe it was something you weren’t too sure about and you did your best on it anyway. They’re blown away by what you did and the whole time you’re like, oh, I’m not sure, but they loved it.

We can get worked up about stuff for no reason at all.

I just wanted to share with you a few lessons that I learned from watching Barbara Walters: Her Story. It was good; it really was. Man, it’s just amazing. You just never know where your career is going to take you. You never know!

I know some of you listening haven’t even started on your VA business, or you’ve dabbled in it but haven’t jumped all the way in. I just want to say that the things that you do in your life are completely up to you. You have a choice and even when you make a choice, you still have chance to tweak, rearrange, revise, and make adjustments along the way.

That’s what it’s all about. That’s really what it’s all about. Nobody gets it right the first time out. Nobody does. We just don’t see all the tweaking and refining and correcting that takes place. We see the end of a thing. We don’t see the beginning and the middle and, you know, the sweat and tears and questions. But all of that happens to all of us.

You’re in a good space. Go forth and pursue your dreams.

Tweetables:

We have to be resourceful and we can learn from Miss Barbara Walters @tiffanydparson #VATip click to tweet!

Self-doubt should not paralyze you from doing what you want to do. @tiffanydparson #VATip click to tweet!

Hi I’m Tiffany Parson!

I am a coach to those interested in providing services to clients from the comforts of home. As the CEO and Founder of Virtual Hired Hand. I am a Technical Implementation Strategist serving clients since 2008. I show business owners how to utilize a WordPress, Social Media, Webinars, Teleseminars and Podcasts to get their message online.

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Mission:

Connecting women with their dreams of owning location independent businesses for themselves as virtual service providers.

Hi I’m Tiffany Parson!

And I want to see your dreams come true. Whether you're looking to be a virtual assistant business owner, freelancer, or work from home part-time, I'd love to help you get moving. My specialty is connecting you with the you God created you to be. Everything we reach for leads us to the next thing. What are you reaching for?